Dark Whispers
The trip had been meant for relaxing. In part, it had been. The first night had been spent vigorously breaking in the den they’d chosen to stay in. The next day, An’Set had made her pancakes. Simple but one of her favorites. Her poor husband was a baby about the cold but he showed little of it, other than bundling himself up in warm clothing.
They wandered in the snow, looking for a certain sort of flower and for a small enough pine tree that they could drag about. A playful snow fight ensued and ended with them nearly being crushed by the tree as An’Set had chopped it down far too vigorously, spurred on by his wife.
It was that night, as the pair readied themselves to head for the springs, that everything began to go south. Spiked hot chocolate, meats, cheeses, grapes, and crackers were all bundled up in a basket along with themselves in heavy fur coats and clothes. Reveria also carried with her the red lantern, an object she was never without any more. The walk wasn’t so bad, along the resorts heated paths that lead to the hot springs. As they arrived, the druid kicked her boots free and let the fur coat fall free to the ground about her. They were alone here after all. Her nude form slid into the springs, a sigh of contentment loosing from her lips as she felt the bubbling warm water about her.
It wasn’t long before An’Set joined her and the pair leaned back to stare at the stars above. "I had always thought the stars were the most important thing to me... As time has gone on... I feel her touch less and less. Which, is not a pity party. More of a matter of fact." Touching the water's surface with a finger, the steam swirled to reveal the form of one of her spectral spiders skittering across the surface. "Focuses shift, beliefs change, not something I ever thought I would see happen to myself."
An’Set looked to her and let out a slow breath. "Elune is always going to be looking down at you, Reveria. In the darkest of times, no matter how far you walk away from her. Trust me, I've been in the dark." He stared up at the stars. "I don't think she's meant to solve our every problem... but she does watch."
Behind them, the red lantern began to glow and a chill ran down Reveria’s spine. Dread gnawed away at her as she turned suddenly and saw the light. Her eyes grew wide, knowing the lantern didn’t glow for just any reason.
Something was here with them.
“The lantern!” She pushed herself from the water reaching out to grasp it and lift it, raising it to see what was out there.
She didn’t need it.
Pinhole eyes stared at her from the darkness and terror consumed the druid. The shadowy form of the Sleeper gave an eerie tilt of it’s head as it focused on Reveria. “Set... It’s the...” Her words stopped mid sentence even as her right eye began to twitch harshly.
'You... surrender... every time'
A tear rolled down her cheek as she fought against the terror boiling within her. “I... do not... surrender...” Her words seemed almost hollow, even despite their defiant nature.
‘You... are weak.’
He showed her the worst of the worst-- caged on death row.
‘You... are nothing.’
Her rotting corpse, a lonely and decaying grave on the side of the mountains.
‘They... will not... miss you.’
Flashes of Eilithe, angry and saying foolish things to her.
‘We... can give you... purpose.’
The visions were so much worse than she was ready for and a whimper sounded from her throat as tears began to gush down her cheeks. Even still, she was trying to fight, trembling and shaking as she fought against the Sleeper’s influence.
The lantern grew brighter, and luckily An'Set couldn't take his eyes off that blinding red light. Slowly, Reveria felt hands all over her, gripping her-- sliding their hands over her eyes. The voices of the Red Web whispered.
"Do not look."
"Stay here."
"You are the spider, not the insect."
As the lantern grew brighter, Reveria shuddered violently, like she was having a seizure, though her eyes were clearly trying to pry themselves over to gaze on the red light. "I w-will... Nev-ver... Ser...Ser... Serve... Y-you..." The defiance in her voice was unmistakable as she seethed at the Sleeper. The hands of the Red Web shielded her gaze, leaving the world around her eerily silent until that voice rang out again.
‘Every choice... Every stroke up current... is designed. Your choice... will never... be your own. You... are shackled. You... are chained. You will kneel.’
The next flash was a truth that might not have been so unlikely. Eilithe, a crown like the golden sun being placed upon her head. Not by any god-- but by the people of Dead Sun themselves.
‘You... were born... to serve another.’
The red light thrummed, the voices chanted in unison rattling through the snow. It was unintelligible whispers and murmurs which seemed to stop the advances.
She shook, she trembled, her fists raised into the air to slam into the snow covered ground.
"I WILL NOT! I WAS NOT!"
As she screamed at the Sleeper, her skin hardened and blackened along her cheeks, along her back, along her fore arms and even along her thighs.
The chanting voices seemed to keep her in place, leaving her breathing hard and powerful. Reveria's exhaled breaths left a chittered whisper on the wind as she pushed air from her lungs.
A hard pulse of his magic from the Red Lantern collapsed the Sleeper into nothing, and whether he'd gone because of the light or because the time was no longer good, he was gone.
The druid collapsed forward, half in the water as she supported her weight on her palms. She seemed to be crying, tears were certainly falling into the snow beneath her. A quick glance was given to An'Set and at least for a blink of an eye... She had four eyes. "It cares not for your defiance."
"Thrashing in a cage."
"Your rage only feeds it"
The Red Web warned her.
The light dimmed and the pair were once more alone.
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Back in Dead Sun, just before the training session that always took place on Thursdays, Reveria made her way to the barracks. Wardens of the harbor greeted her with nods and bowed heads, nothing so formal as a salute though. They were no military after all.
Her feet carried her to the bunker like structure that was her office and once she unlocked it and shut the door behind her, she found her chair behind the desk and sat heavily, leaning back with closed eyes. There was a calm to being in her office after the trauma she’d felt not but two nights before.
Eventually, her eyes slowly peeled open, one at a time. She glanced around the office before doing a sort of double take on the window. The ‘UwU’ sigil was still scrawled upon it which got a scowl from the druid.
“What the actual fuck.”
She scrawled the symbol on a piece of paper before finding a rag and obliterating it from the window. Either someone was being funny or her shit show was far from over. Whatever it might be, she pushed it from her mind for the moment and turned to head back out to barracks.
A warden soon approached. “The caches have been placed first warden. The training is ready.”
Reveria gave a nod in return. “Thank you. Good.”
With that, she headed off to have a hopefully stress free night of training with those that called the harbor their own.
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(Tagging @theshalthera and @velerodra-valesinger for mentions) (written in part with the amazingly talented @eilitheduskbringer <3 ) (Art by maskman626)














